MisiónMéxico is a children’s refuge providing love, life and hope to 29 children and teenagers in our home in southern Mexico.

The children – aged between 5 and 17 years old – come to us from backgrounds of poverty, neglect and abuse. We aim to provide them with a loving home where they are considered one of the family, along with emotional support and educational advancement.

We also provide a Youth Transition Program, which prepares our teenagers and young adults for life outside the refuge.

We have a small, dedicated staff but are also dependent on the wonderful volunteers who come us from all over the world to share their skills and love with the children here.

Team Kenya work with local Kenyan people to educate girls, empower women and transformthe Ndhiwa community in rural Kenya. Ndhiwa is situated in the poor, rural region of Homa Bay, where the majority of the population is almost entirely dependent on subsistence farming for their livelihoods.

Over 63% of people in Ndhiwa live in extreme poverty

Over 24% of children in female headed households in Ndhiwa have received no formal education

Less than 9% of children in female headed households have completed secondary education

Our mission is to involve entire communities in gender equality, so that girls in rural Kenya can create their own bright futures.

The current programs are:

Success for Girls in School: Helping 10-17-year-old girls stay in school and be safe, healthy and happy.

Aspire Scholarships: Providing life changing scholarships to secondary school and universities for bright 14-23-year-old girls from very poor families

Growing food security: Working to increase food security by training community members in good practice farming techniques.

Women into Enterprise: Providing women in the poorest communities with small loans and business training

Sustainable Eco-Tourism: Karibuni Eco Cottages is a locally run social enterprise bringing in income to support projects in the communities

Volunteer Programs are:

Sports coaching – Skilled sports coaches are needed to improve and develop the quality of the sports coaching on offer to help make the sessions more engaging and enable us to reach more young people.

Mentoring – are needed to provide the girls with support and guidance in daily life. Mentors could also work within our women in to enterprise programme to offer guidance and support with their businesses.

IT training – are needed to run IT sessions with teachers, students and local community members to improve IT literacy, and to provide education on gender issues to both men and women.

Full board accommodation to volunteers at a discounted rate of £15 per day
All meals are provided at the restaurant within the accommodation.
Minimum Age 21+
Suitable for Novices
This project has been deemed Low-Medium Risk

We provide free medical care for children and need all types of Medical staff including Biomedical technicians and Play Therapists. ________________________________________________________________________________________

We believe every child has the right to a healthy and loving life. At Lao Friends Hospital for Children (LFHC), we provide free medical care to over 15,000 children annually. Children and families often travel long distances (up to 8 hours) to receive the medical care available at LFHC. Every child is treated with high-quality and compassionate medical care and our motto is “Treat every patient as if your own child.”

LFHC, situated in the beautiful town of Luang Prabang, opened in Feb 2015 and serves as the only specialized paediatric care centre in the northern half of the country. The hospital currently has active Outpatient, Inpatient, Emergency and Operating Departments with Outreach Services and we plan to open our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in October 2016.

The hospital’s central mission is to build local capacity, focusing on medical training, education, and mentorship. The hospital relies heavily upon international volunteers to support its team of local staff in all areas.

Our model of Treatment, Education and Prevention continues to move forward due to dedicated efforts of our staff and volunteers! This team is seeking individuals who want to gain international clinical experience, lead medical education, and serve as a mentors to hardworking and determined staff. If you feel you have the skills and experience we would love to hear from you. LFHC accepts applications for medical volunteers of all different specialities on a rolling and continual basis throughout the year.

The information on this page has been obtained or determined after conducting a detailed assessment which can be found here.

info@indigovolunteers.org
Lao Friends Hospital for Children
US Registered Charity
LFHC will send document with accommodation options on. Prices vary depending on season. Discounts are available for volunteers.

A small monthly allowance can be provided to help cover some basic costs such as food and housing commitments of 2+ months.
Accommodation: Depends on accommodation selection

Project Site: Canteen available at hospital
2 years experience in field preferable
Suitable for Novices
This project has been deemed Low-Medium Risk

Since 2006, we’ve been providing a quality form of health care that is not restricted to the few but a right for all. Moved by the depth of suffering that Haitians experience every day, we bring transformation to communities where even the most basic health care has been unavailable.

Helping to run one of the leading hospitals in North Haiti, we specialise in community health care, maternity, paediatric & neo-natal care, and rehabilitation services for adults and children.

Working alongside the Haitian Government and grassroot partners, we seek to empower a sustainable, inclusive and accessible health service, driven by Haitian vision and staff. We are a Christian charity with a heart of compassion and a desire for justice. We choose to stand in the gap for the innocent and vulnerable as Jesus did, offering health care without any form of regional, religious, or economical discrimination.

Please see below for further information or visit our website: https://hopehealthaction.org/

In 2015 over half a million people undertook the treacherous journey across the Aeagen sea and arrived on the shores of Lesvos hoping to find refuge from impossible life-conditions. A quarter of them were children. Having left their homes, bringing only what they could carry, they arrived in need of basic necessities, like clothing, food, water and shelter. The conditions in the Middle-East are worse than ever, and the number of refugees arriving in Europe is unprecedented.

Northern Lights was formed on the Island of Lesvos in Greece in September 2015 to ensure the safety of asylum-seekers arriving by boat from Turkey. As the circumstances surrounding the refugee crisis changed, Northern Lights shifted their attention to supporting unofficial camps near Idomeni, providing clothing, hygiene supplies, food packages, tents, blankets and other essential items.

Northern Lights Aid is currently focused on improving the standards of living and creating community projects within government-run refugee camps in and around Kavala, a beautiful city by the sea in Northern Greece. They work in collaboration with residents of the camps and the military to build sustainable community environments including schools, community cooking, gathering places and recreational areas among other projects that are needed in each camp.

The information on this page has been obtained or determined after conducting a detailed assessment which can be found here.

northerngreecevolunteers@gmail.com
Northern Lights Aid
Norwegian Registered Charity
We sometimes have apartments for cheap rent to volunteers – contact us to see availability! If not, volunteers find accommodation themselves, but we are more than happy to guide them the right way.
Accommodation: Depends on accommodation selection

Project Site: Self-Catered (there is a market close to the camp)
Minimum age 18+ and be in good physical and mental health
Suitable for Novices
This project has been deemed Low Risk

Several years ago, Emme, one of the founders of Volunteering Moldova, was a volunteer in Moldova working in an orphanage. Whilst everything was clean and tidy, it was obvious that the children needed more one to one interaction and play than the staff are able to give. She quickly realised that there was a need for a charity that could purely focus on the institutions and the needs of those living in them. She returned home and found several other passionate people and created the charity in October 2014.

Volunteering Moldova is a small non-profit that aims to benefit the lives of vulnerable people living in state run institutions in Moldova. We currently support three state run institutions and offer volunteering opportunities at all three. The institutions are an orphanage located in the capital city of Chisinau that has 170 children between the ages of 0 to 7 years old, a small group home and a disabled institution for males that has 180 males between the ages of 5 to 35 years old in Orhei. We also offer projects each year, which will benefit those in the institutions by offering them days out, activities, and experiences that they would not otherwise have.

Volunteers are essential to what we do and are our lifeline to achieving our goals. Our volunteer program offers anyone from any background in any part of the world the opportunity of a working holiday volunteering in either the orphanage or in the disabled institution. Volunteers have an enormous impact on the health and well-being of the individuals in the institutions that we support through providing one to one interaction that the individual does not otherwise get. The main aim is to build the residents’ sense of self confidence and self worth and develop their current skills and abilities and experience new activities. Our ultimate goal is to have at least one volunteer with every group at each institution Mon-Fri all year long. It would be ideal if every resident of the institution could have one to one interaction for at least an hour every day.

*£200 a week to volunteer at the children’s orphanage, and £400 a week at the disabled institution (as it includes travel to the institution). Includes accommodation, breakfast & airport transfers. Discounts available for those who stay 1 month+.
Accommodation: Breakfast included but other meals are self-catered

Project Site: Self-Catered
Minimum age 18 years old
Suitable for Novices
This project has been deemed Low Risk

We are the Open Cultural Centre (OCC) – formerly the Idomeni Cultural Centre (ICC) and we create learning and cultural programs for refugees living in camps in Greece. The OCC was formed in early April 2016 through the collective initiative of independent volunteers and residents of the Idomeni refugee camp. We noticed that whilst the camp had many formal and informal volunteers and NGOs doing great work, there was a lack of educational and cultural activities for children and adults. Refugee and independent volunteers worked together to deliver classes and create a safe space for both children and adults to continue learning in the camp. The ICC also hosted cultural events and activities including art, music and sewing classes as well as theatre workshops, open mic sessions, performances and cinema nights.

In Idomeni, the cultural centre quickly became a very important part of the camp. With more than 150 children and 80 adults attending classes and evening activities. As well as an educational and cultural space the Cultural Center was also used as a place of comfort and shelter in times of turmoil in the camp.

With the closure of the Idomeni camp on 24 May, 2016, the OCC decided to continue its work and chose to set up new cultural centers into formal camps bringing its experience and resources to continue a programme of refugee-led classes, workshops and cultural activities. The OCC currently provides non-formal education in Cherso camp and is working on getting in other camps. The OCC formally registered as a non profit association in June 2016 under the name Open Cultural Center.

The El Shaddai Charitable Trust is a registered, non-profit Charity working in Goa and other States of India, implementing the Child Rights Act 2003/05 for orphans, street children and children coming from economically underprivileged conditions. Children are cared for and provided with food, clothing, shelter and education, leading them to a better & brighter future.

El Shaddai began with our co founders Matthew Kurian & Anita Edgar. In the year 1994, Matthew started his ministry amongst the poor with no money in Goa. Anita Edgar came to his church and shared the same vision with him and together they started the charity and officially registered in the year 1997.

We have residential Homes, Day Care Centres, Community Centres, and Cottages for the seniors who are attending University, Colleges, Technical Institutions and Professional Training Centres & working with us as Trainees & Staff. We have Manna Khana free food distribution programme on week days. Manna takeaway packets are provided for around 275 poor & needy children & adults living on the streets. We have a number of schools in the slum areas providing educational facilities to the slum children. In addition to this, our Outreach Projects continue to benefit and change lives in South-West States of India. El Shaddai has impacted over 4000 children and continues to touch more lives through its various initiatives.

A Drop in the Ocean works in the island Chios, in northern Greece and in the area of Athens.We work directly inside the refugee camps, often run by the national Greek army.

Our main work tasks are to distribute food, clothes and non-food items. We are also involved in planning and organising different activities for children and adults. In addition, we assist in teaching English and provide material and logistics for bilingual education. In all camps we are cooperating with different organisations, such as UNHCR, Help Refugees, Save the Children, the international Red Cross and other partners.

Our volunteers participate in distribution, warehouse logistics, activities for children and construction of various gathering points for the refugees. Working as a volunteer demands many hours of working both inside and outside the camps. When volunteering, you are expected to contribute in a positive manner and accept all kind of tasks that are dispatched by our local coordinators. We are completely dependent of all assistance we can get, and all volunteers have to be committed to the team that is involved in different tasks depending on the need of the moment.

The Ideas Partnership (TIP) is a non-governmental organisation founded in 2009 in Prishtina, Kosovo. It all started when the co-founder Elizabeth Gowing accompanied her partner to Kosovo and occasionally passed by the very poor neighbourhood 29 in Fushe Kosova. Speaking to the locals there, she realized that the community was struggling to get even compulsory education due to their economic status.

Seeing this and the statistical findings which showed a staggering 96 % illiteracy in the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community she wanted to help in any way she could. She first started giving classes in Albanian language to one child from this community and the number of children quickly increased. It was clear an organisation was needed that would give this community more opportunities to access the basic education. Together with her partner Robert Wilton and a local friend Ardian Arifaj they founded The Ideas Partnership.

The main target groups that we work with are children and young people from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Kosovo. Our primary activity focus is on education and health but we also provide support for income generation schemes for the poorest women. Our education initiatives include mediation to prevent school dropout and giving particular support to vulnerable groups such as teenage girls in school and the children of widows. We also provide literacy, maths and English classes for children and adults, a daily kindergarten, and support adults who want to return to high school education with a bursary scheme.

Our health activities include vaccination campaigns, ante-natal classes for pregnant women, and palliative care and physiotherapy sessions for children with special needs.

Our micro-finance program focuses on handicrafts and small-scale gardening initiatives. We are also engaged in the field of rural tourism, especially in the town of Janjeva. We have organized promotional exhibitions, two websites, a tourist information centre, training of tour guides and equipping of guest houses.

Children suffering from rare or life-limiting conditions are often completely neglected in the Romanian health care system and children experiencing trauma as a result of the death of a parent or sibling are often socially marginalised.

In Romania there are….

5,000 children suffering from a life-limiting condition 8,000 family care-givers involved in the caring process 10,000 children facing the death of a parent or sibling annually

Hospices of Hope’s Summer Trips are an opportunity for our beneficiaries (child patients and children who have, or have had, a close family member cared for) to be kids, to receive respite, to share stories and find comfort in each other and ultimately have a time that offers normality in their displaced world.

We are offering the opportunity for volunteers to work with our patients and their families to give them a much needed ‘holiday’ they will never forget.

The information on this page has been obtained or determined after conducting a detailed assessment which can be found here.

info@indigovolunteers.org
Hospices of Hope
UK Registered Charity
To be arranged through Hospices of Hope
Food options depends on which trip you chose to go on
Minimum age 16+ for Brasov and 17+ for other trips.
Suitable for Novices
This project has been deemed Low Risk

Luhwahwa Youth Development Foundation (LUYODEFO) is a voluntary, non-governmental organization that provides support to marginalized communities across the Rwenzori region of western Uganda. The formation of LUYODEFO in 2003 was out of deep aspiration by a group of motivated youth to respond to the plight of children, youth, women, and men impacted greatly by political conflict, disease, extreme poverty and other detriments in the Rwenzori region in western Uganda.

The idea was to create a platform for empowering rural resource communities to contribute to sustainable livelihoods among the local, underprivileged communities, especially in their social, health, and economic well-being. LUYODEFO is committed to ending social exclusion and discrimination; creating networks for children, youth, and women; increasing access to development services; and empowering all people to reach their potential and take responsibility for their development.

To achieve our goals, LUYODEFO engages in intrinsically linked activities lying under four thematic areas, using flexible approaches with a strong emphasis on active participation from the benefiting community.

Education Support initiatives:

This involves improving the overall quality of education, increasing retention rates, reducing drop-out rates and ensuring that the school curriculum is relevant to the children and the needs of the community.

This involves livelihood projects addressing issues of sustainability and resilience by focusing on food security; socio-economic security through savings stimulation, flexible revolving microcredit, skills training and micro enterprise initiatives; harnessing the power of soccer to educate people about issues of dignity, peace, justice and healthy living-styles; and using song & dance to not only leverage the income generating potential of local people but also to preserve the culture of the area as they perform authentic rituals.

Orphan & Vulnerable Children (OVC) Support initiatives:

This is a family strengthening program to assist children affected by poverty, war, violence, diseases, exploitation, neglect and many more devastating circumstances.

People in Motion is a non-profit organisation that sends aid and volunteers to people and places in need.

Our efforts began in September 2015 as a small group of people who got together to send donations of needed items throughout Europe in response to the refugee crisis. We have grown considerably during this time both in numbers and objectives.

We have provided many large vans full of clothing, tents, blankets and food which have been loaded onto shipping containers bound for Syria and Greece. We have sent many volunteers over to the camps in Greece & France to help distribute donations and provide shelter for people there.

Although we are still in our infancy, the amount we have managed to achieve in such a short period of time is amazing and has been greatly beneficial to the people who need our help – people who are travelling in search of a safer life.

COCO works in Tanzania and Kenyan schools to improve education. They need both primary and secondary school teachers. ___________________________________________________________

COCO (Comrades of Children Overseas ) works alongside communities in East Africa to provide sustainable solutions to the problems preventing children from accessing education. COCO’s main programme at the moment is the Schools for Life initiative, which seeks to replicate the success of Hoja Secondary School in Tanzania elsewhere in East Africa.

Hoja Secondary School was established through partnership between COCO and Tanzanian NGO, The Hoja Project, in 2008 with the school opening in 2009. The partnership between COCO and The Hoja Project is particularly fruitful, with graduates from Hoja Secondary recording the best results in the region of 181 schools for the past four years and the school being operationally self-sustainable.

The Kindimba community saw the success of Hoja Secondary as it is in the same region of schools. The community were keen to know how a community school was achieving such incredible results so that they could replicate it in their own community. COCO and The Hoja Project have since been partnering with the Kindimba community to establish a ‘School for Life’.

The information on this page has been obtained or determined after conducting a detailed assessment which can be found here.

info@indigovolunteers.org
COCO (Comrades of Children Overseas)
Scottish Registered Charity
Arranged through COCO – usually very basic

Please note that most of our placements are independent, so volunteers would not be travelling as part of a group. Volunteers would be supported by overseas implementation partners.
Accommodation: Catered – a member of the community will be employed to cook for volunteers. This will mean that volunteers will have a say in what they eat.

Project Site: Catered – volunteers will eat at the school during the day.
Must be a fully qualified teacher with a minimum of 2 years teaching experience.
Suitable for Novices
This project has been deemed Low-Medium Risk

On Call Africa was set up in 2010 by a group of Scottish doctors who commenced clinics and Community Health Worker training in 2011. With help from the Zambian Health Authorities, we identified the districts that could benefit greatly from our services.

Zambia is currently ranked 141 of 187 countries on the Human Development Index, making it one of the world’s least developed countries. It has been particularly badly affected by the HIV epidemic, and also experiences high rates of tuberculosis, malaria and malnutrition.

A large and geographically dispersed population means only half of Zambians living in rural areas have medical facilities within 5km, and poor roads and a long rainy season make these few facilities even harder to reach. A national healthcare workforce crisis also means that there is only one doctor for every 16,000 people, compared to one for every 600 in the UK. As a result, rural health care is often left to volunteer community health workers who have little training, insufficient medical supplies, and often struggle to balance the health needs of the community with their farming and family commitments.

Our aim is to improve access to healthcare in remote parts of rural southern Zambia by….

Improving the general population’s approach and understanding of health through locally driven health education sessions (for both adults and children) and;

Working towards a sustainable healthcare system, which at its core requires training of health workers and ensuring our overall approach is linked closely to the pre-existing healthcare systems so that these health workers are supported.

The information on this page has been obtained or determined after conducting a detailed assessment which can be found here.

info@indigovolunteers.org
On Call Africa
Scottish Registered Charity
Volunteers stay in a guest house in a shared compound in Livingstone. £50 contribution/week requested.

In villages volunteers camp in tent in schools. No water or electricity for 12 days per month.
At Guest House – self catering
In Villages – Our Project Assistant cooks for the volunteers and this food is provided.
Doctor: Qualified and 2+ years foundation work. FY2 or beyond. GP & specialists welcome. Diploma in Tropical Medicine desirable but not essential. Project Coordinator: International development experience helpful
Suitable for Novices
This project has been deemed Low-Medium Risk

Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to Europe having lost their homes and livelihoods and now face uncertain futures with few or no resources.

We are a committed group of experienced volunteers currently supporting Syrian families in the official Alexandreia refugee camp in Greece. We provide humanitarian support by finding out what refugees need and working in partnership with supporters, local communities and large agencies to improve their health, wellbeing and opportunities. Our priorities are clear:

Essentials: We’ve created two ‘free’ shops, keep them stocked with essential items and run an organised, dignified distribution system. Items include toiletries, clothing and home comforts.

Wellbeing: Better nutrition, care and psychosocial activities to improve their health. We support local professionals, pay for medicines and transport, run children’s activities and resolve refugee problems. We’re also supplementing their official rations with fruit, salad, cooked food and will be fitting a communal kitchen and dining area.

Opportunities: Co-operation with other on-site agencies to give them options. We also run spontaneous activities for the kids around the more structured activities run by the IRC. We are also pushing for better WiFi.

The Mustard Seed Project seeks to empower the people of Mgongeni, an urban slum in the Kisauni district on the outskirts of Mombasa, Kenya, through the provision of education, training, microfinance, sport for the youth, improved healthcare and better services.

From its humble beginnings in 2008 where 40 children were found in squalid conditions in a school, the project now has a primary school for 175 children with a feeding programme and is accessible to the poorest in the community. It has also provided the community with a well, mosquito nets, adult education, business training and microfinance for women to enable them to start or expand existing businesses. MSP is also supporting the youth through sport.

The school is currently in a rented building but construction of a new building started April 2014. When completed it will house over 300 children aged 3-14 in 11 classes of 25. The new building will also house a small clinic for our children, their siblings and their mothers, a sports hall, library and IT suite which will be available to the community in the evening.

Mission: To help provide academic and non-academic educational and health assistance to impoverished children and adults in the north of Malawi.

Phunzira is a UK-based charity that was founded in 2009 in order to help impoverished children and adults in the north of Malawi to receive better education and health care. Our main objective is to provide resources and materials to the people of Ruarwe and its surrounding villages, and to create an approachable and healthy environment that focuses on long-term, sustainable community development. We believe in the notion of collective responsibility and awareness, and seek to initiate grassroots projects that encourage social and economic growth whilst always maintaining a focus on community and individual empowerment.

Porridge and Rice is a registered UK charity working towards removing the barriers to quality education in Kenya. We work with 5 schools in the Nairobi slums to achieve this goal. Our work is split into 7 programs including feeding and nutrition, facilities, health and hygiene, education, children’s rights and sustainability. We work with the extreme poor, these are families of 6-8 in one room bringing in a total income of under £1,50 a day.

Sustainability and accountability is one of our most important programs. The sustainability projects we currently have include chicken houses, pig husbandry and land cultivation. We believe that giving them the means and skills to earn money, they can have an independent future. We now have a university graduate and an accountant in training on our Kenyan team thanks to hard-sought sponsorship.

The first interventionis almost always the feeding program. This is designed to address immediate hunger (filling stomachs) as well as hidden hunger which otherwise would lead to malnutrition, poor overall health, impaired immunity and delayed development.

The second biggest need is sanitation facilities. PaR has significantly improved quality and access to sanitation by installing water tanks with stands at all schools, introducing basic hand washing facilities, providing soap & water, and supplying disinfectant.

Our model is that we partner with established non-government funded local schools which have strong existing leaders who are dedicated to raising the next generation. We work up a high level of trust with all the Heads and Deputies in the schools.

Porridge and Rice have absolutely no paid staff in the UK and rely on the volunteers to give their time to the charity. The schools frequently welcome donors and visitors and are more than happy to host guests even when the UK team are not there. They will happily meet and greet guests, take them to meet the children and ply them with copious amounts of tea and mandazi as is the Kenyan way. Anyone visiting the school can participate in teaching, serving lunches or simply entertaining the little ones!

The information on this page has been obtained or determined after conducting a detailed assessment which can be found here.

info@indigovolunteers.org
Porridge & Rice
UK Registered Charity
Please send enquiry to Porridge and Rice who will be able to provide you with all the information.
Lunch provided at schools. Other meals depend on accommodation selection.
All experience levels welcome
Suitable for Novices
This project has been deemed Medium Risk

Several years ago the women of the Kilifi Methodist Church became concerned at the growing number of children begging on the streets of Kilifi – a phenomenon not previously known in this small Kenyan town on the coast of East Africa. They realised that more and more of the kids were losing their parents due to AIDS, and although most were taken in by other family members, the poverty level here meant that the families just could not feed the extra mouths. Today, 52 such children are being looked after due to extraordinary determination against the odds.

Upendo Orphans Support Project is run by the women from this church group, although they support children of all beliefs. They support the children by providing education, food, health care and psychosocial support. This is done by providing meals for all orphans at lunch and dinner time, paying their school fees and educational needs, providing clothes, monitoring their health and obtaining medical assistance as needed, providing means of sanitation and giving them a loving environment and counselling when needed. The children return to the homes of their guardians at night.

When schools closed, our children normally remain at the centre for holiday activities including holiday studies and other co-curricular activities. We would love volunteers to join us at this time to assist in various areas such as teaching, counselling and other activities such as art (painting, beading, sowing, drawing etc.)

Tailoring

The tailoring course was started in 2015. This programme provides the children with vocational skills along side their academic schooling. The course is facilitated by an qualified tailor who teaches every Saturday 10:00 – 12:00 and 3- children ages 11- 16 are currently on the program.

The children are learning how to make their own school uniform and repairing their clothes.This project is funded only on donations from individuals.

The information on this page has been obtained or determined after conducting a detailed assessment which can be found here.

info@indigovolunteers.org
Upendo Orphans Support Project
UK Registered Charity
Can stay with local family or arrange independently
Depends on accommodation selection (Lunch provided when at the school)
Minimum age 18+
Suitable for more experienced travellers/volunteers
This project has been deemed Medium Risk

Hope and Aid Direct is a UK registered charity that delivers and distributes Humanitarian Aid mainly to Kosovo and surrounding areas, although they do respond to other world emergencies. The aid is delivered, usually in a convoy of lorries, and usually twice a year, directly into the hands of the people that need it, and volunteers are needed to help with this. Hope & Aid Direct are not affiliated to any political or religious organisations. Their work is carried out entirely by volunteers (ordinary people) who raise their own funds, gather together their own aid, source and drive their own transport or fly out, and then finally undertake the distribution. The most needed items are food, toiletries, blankets, bedding, clothes & medical supplies. Hundreds of thousands of families still rely on this type of humanitarian aid to survive.

Hope & Aid Direct work hand in hand with outside organisations which have included the British Army, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Embassies, the Foreign Office and various other local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) such as the Mother Theresa Society in Kosovo. Working with these organisations helps facilitate entry in to each country, provide security if required, identify the needy, and often they serve to act as interpreters.

In addition to the convoys, Hope & Aid Direct fund and promote many in-country projects to help individuals and groups. Examples are initiatives such as house repairs, beehive and greenhouse provision and training, support and equipment for schools, and provision of vitally important winter firewood. A major undertaking was the complete replacement of commercial washing and drying machines in an in-house laundry at a mental and physical disabilities institute.

Hope & Aid Direct are not an organisation that change governments or stop wars or disasters, but they do make a world of difference for vulnerable individuals and families.

The project started in 1993. Their aim is for every child to grow up in a nurturing environment so they work with the adults who impact on the lives of young children: the parents; caregivers; Early Childhood Development (ECD) practitioners.

They achieve this by:

Offering accredited ECD training.

Supporting a cohort of volunteers who facilitate learning through play in the homes of children not able to attend a pre-school.

Providing resources for play and learning through the establishment of toy libraries in rural communities.

Encouraging and supporting the registration and improvement of early learning facilities.

They also run a day centre for children living in an informal settlement (squatter camp). The children can have 2 meals every day and play in a safe supervised space.

LETCEE’s mission is to build the confidence and capacity of adults so that they will create nurturing environments for the children in their communities.

info@indigovolunteers.org
LETCEE (Little Elephant Training Centre for Early Education)
Not-For-Profit
Arranged through LETCEE
Self-catered
Minimum age 20 for all skills except psychologists who need a minimum experience of 2 years working with at-risk population
Suitable for more experienced travellers/volunteers
This project has been deemed Low-Medium Risk

CamKids’ main purpose is to help children in Cambodia who are either poor or whose parents are not there for them: orphans, street children, children living in poor rural areas and children affected by natural disasters, such as flood or famine. In a country where there is a high rate of child abandonment, CamKids also support programs to help strengthen vulnerable families and keep them together.

CamKids began an initiative called MEND – Medical, Education, Nutrition, Development which was founded on the principle ‘a hand up, not a hand out’. The project has proved to be a huge success and the children are flourishing. CamKids work with local communities offering long-term support to thousands of children and their families through the provision of MEND and vocational skills as well as support for families that have been affected by illness or disease.

Some of CamKids work includes:

Direct financing of construction, including

A school which they also equip and staff, and has some 300 children following government curriculum, as well as offering a Summer School and extra classes in English, Art, farming & vocational training.

A fully resourced clinic which provides free basic medical and dental services and health education to the surrounding communities which are very poor, in a remote location with extremely limited access to medical facilities.

Nursery at an orphanage

Kitchen at an orphanage

Schools at orphanages or in poor communities

Funding a number of weekly medical clinics & eight village schools in poor slum or rural communities

NB: TEECH will be accepting applications for the 2018 trip from January 2018. The dates will be Saturday 11th August 2018 to Sunday 26th August 2018 inclusive and the village in Moldova will be confirmed shortly.

The TEECH motto is ‘to help those less fortunate create a better future for themselves’. They do this by providing aid and improving basic living conditions for the lives of the young and the elderly. Over the years they have worked with many schools, orphanages and hospitals and a home for the aged in Eastern Europe. By sparking enthusiasm with the local people they hope to enable and encourage self-help and enterprise to continue after they have left.

Every year the TEECH trustees visit possible projects and decide which would best benefit from help and how they could be made self-sufficient. A team of approximately 20-40 volunteers armed with tools travel overland by coach to endeavor to complete the project. They also deliver aid to various contacts in the local area (e.g beds & medical supplies to hospitals and clothes & shoes for orphanages).

The 2017 project was based in a village school in Stuzeni, Moldova, that teaches over 90 children. Volunteers traveled over land by coach to Moldova and worked in a school creating bathrooms (from an empty room) for the children and community. Water was connected to the school and then sanitary ware, toilets, sinks, hand driers, water heaters (and much more) were all installed. Two bathrooms were created; one for the girls and one for the boys.

The volunteers will be working for and with the locals to help improve their lives. Whilst on site volunteers will experience what it is like to have no running water, no toilets and no showers.

Volunteers leave the UK from Suffolk (a place near Ipswich) and are expected to make their own way to the departure location and be on time. Volunteers will then be dropped back to this location when arriving home.

The project started in 2006. We started with a pre-school and after positive pressure from parents the school also evolved into a low primary school. The school welcomes 130 children from crèche to Grade 4 and employs 8 people.

We provide a good education at an affordable price for children from poor economic and social backgrounds. The rate of unemployment and the consequences of HIV in this area put the children in a highly vulnerable situation. Keeping our fees low, thanks to sponsors or volunteers, helps us to care for those children who need it the most.

Urukundo home for children started in 2006 and is a home for vulnerable children and orphans. Urukundo Learning Centre began in 2011 and the school is for the children in the home and community children. The home cares for 54 children with a wide range of ages from birth to mature adults. It all started with a woman, a vision and one little girl aged 10 who is now in her first year of University.

Our goal is to give hope and make a difference in the lives of those we touch, be it a child or an adult. Food, lodging & care mixed with a large portion of love does make a difference. Education being the primary focus at present.

The information on this page has been obtained or determined after conducting a detailed assessment which can be found here.

info@indigovolunteers.org
Hope Made Real – Urukundo Foundation
Not-For-Profit
Accommodation is on site*
*We ask for a contribution of $40 a day which covers lodging, 3 X meals and wifi
It is catered but there are facilities to self-cater also
No previous experience required.
Suitable for Novices
This project has been deemed Low Risk

Kids Club Kampala aims to bring hope and love to some of the most vulnerable children in the urban slums and rural villages in and surrounding Kampala, Uganda.

It was formed in 2009 by Sam Wambayo, Corrie Fraser and Olivia Barker with a vision to see children’s lives changed. Since then KCK has expanded from working in two communities with a hundred children to working in 17 communities and reaching over 4000 children and their families in Uganda every day. We also now have a fantastic team of over 70 local volunteers who give up their time and energy to care for the children in their communities.

We are passionate about empowering these children and communities living in situations of extreme poverty, letting them know they are loved and are worth something, and helping them to overcome their situations of poverty by bringing sustainable changes. We bring hope, joy and love into these little children’s’ lives through fun and games, football, music, dance and through supporting their basic needs. Alongside this, we feed and clothe the children and help them to get a good education. We teach the children about keeping safe and run sanitation and hygiene programmes. KCK also works with women from the communities to help them increase their incomes and get their families out of poverty. We are also supporting vulnerable girls and helping children who have been abandoned by providing them a safe place to live.